Jazz/NBA predictions

Predictions Post

By Kyle Kirkham

Yeah I know it’s a bit early for a predictions post, but that doesn’t matter, so here is mine. (By the way, isn’t it good to be posting again?)

League Awards

Rookie of the year

This came down to the top two picks in the draft for me, Williams and Irving. Both should get plenty of minutes on their terrible teams and have a shot to show what they got. While these players should make a difference for their teams, however I don’t see either of them living up to the standards of recent recipients of the award.

Winner: Derrick Williams

Most improved player

My Jazz fan bias automatically put Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward in contention. I also considered Greg Monroe, Arron Afflalo, Paul George, and James Harden. My pick came down to what player is going to get a big boost of minutes and make the most of them.

Winner: Gordon Hayward

Sixth man of the year

At first I was having a hard time deciding on this award. It is a bit more difficult to predict because we don’t know for sure who will start and who will not. I considered most of the recent winners of the award, but ended up going with that dude on the Thunder with the big beard.

Winner: James Harden

Defensive player of the year

This was probably the easiest award for me to predict. I thought about Andre Iguodala, Tony Allen, and LeBron James, but I just don’t see any of these guys preventing the NBA’s best center from winning it a fourth consecutive year.

Winner: Dwight Howard

Most valuable player

This was definitely not an easy pick. I chose between LeBron, Rose, Dirk, Durant, and Howard. It came down to Durant and Rose to me, both who should be at an advantage with a compressed NBA schedule.

Winner: Kevin Durant

Finals

Teams: Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat

I picked OKC from the West because I think they have the best combination of talent and youth to survive the compressed NBA season. It was a bit harder for me to choose who came from the East, but I picked the Heat over the Bulls because James/Wade > Rose/Boozer.

Champion/Result: Miami Heat; in 7 games.

Finals MVP: Dwayne Wade

Jazz predictions

Best Rookie

This is kind of a lame thing to predict on because there are only two options but I’ll do it anyways. Both Burks and Kanter will be behind at least 3 players on the depth chart and will have to earn their minutes. Normally a #3 pick would be better than the #12, but in this case I see otherwise, at least for their first year.

Winner: Alec Burks

Most improved player

I thought about giving this to mainly three guys, Favors, Hayward, and Miles. All three will have a good shot and have the potential to make drastic improvements. Playing time will be a major factor for all of them, but Favors and Hayward may be the only ones to get more than last season.

Winner: Gordon Hayward

Most Valuable Player

This was very hard for me to decide on. I immediately narrowed down to Jefferson and Millsap. Both obviously bring different things to the table and are valuable in their own way. I think both players are going to be improved this season and will take turns leading the Jazz.

Winner: TIE Al Jefferson/Paul Millsap

Team record

This will be a fun and painful season for Jazz fans. We are obviously in the process of rebuilding will have to wait and watch our young players develop. I think we are going to go through a lot rough patches, and end up in the lottery for the second straight year.

Final record: 29-37; miss playoffs.